The Hindu       09.09.2014 

Nagapattinam municipality to get underground sewer system soon

Two major towns, Velankanni and Sirkazhi, in the district could soon get underground sewage systems as the district administration has decided to forward detailed project proposals to the government.

Speaking to The Hindu here, Collector T.Munusamy said following the successful implementation of underground sewage system (UGSS) at Mayiladuthurai, the district administration has decided to implement a similar scheme in Nagapattinam.

Nagapattinam is a selection grade municipality and a district headquarters. The area of the town is 14.90 sq km and the population as per 2001 census is 92,525.

Currently, sewage from houses are let into open drains and finally discharged into the Vettar and Devanathi rivers. The government has sanctioned the UGSS for Nagapattinam municipality at an estimated cost of Rs. 60.68 crore. The scheme is funded under Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project III.

All the 36 wards of the Nagapattinam municipality will be covered under the system. The scheme is designed for the base year (2009) population of 1, 02,987 with an intermediate and ultimate year of 2024 and 2039 with estimated population of 1, 25,895 and 1, 53,899 respectively, the Collector said.

The sewage contribution is fixed as 100 litres per capita daily. The sewage generated is 12.59 million litres daily and 15.39 million litres daily respectively for intermediate and ultimate stages.

The town is divided into 8 zones. The sewage collected from all the streets by sewer lines of pipes ranging from 200 mm to 600 mm (UPVC/RCC) to a total length of 90,301 metre with 3,418 manholes, six lift manholes, and seven pumping stations. About 11,034 domestic connections will be provided.

The collected sewage will be treated at two separate sewage treatment plants, one with a capacity of 2.96 MLD at Nagore and another of 9.63 MLD at Nagapattinam (Extended Activated Sludge Process) located as part of the municipal compost yard at Nagapattinam and part of the municipal park at Nagore (Extended Activated Sludge Technology) respectively.

The sewage treatment plant is designed for the intermediate stage total capacity of 12.59 million litres daily. The treated effluent will be discharged into Vettar and Devanathi River for which consent for operation from Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has been obtained in March 2012.

The work is being executed in six packages with collection system comprising four packages and sewage treatment plant comprising two packages, said the Executive Engineer of TWAD, U.Murugaiyan.

At present 95 per cent works of collection system are complete. Around 76 per cent works of sewage treatment plant at Nagapattinam and 53 per cent works of sewage treatment plant at Nagore are over. The scheme is expected to be completed by the end of November 2014.

The underground sewerage scheme is a boon to the residents, and Nagapattinam will become free from pollution and environmental-friendly district in the State, said the Municipal Commissioner, R.Murugesan.

Currently, sewer is let into open drains and discharged into Vettar and Devanathi rivers

95 p.c. collection system work over; scheme expected to be completed by November 2014

The Hindu      09.09.2014 

Garbage piles up as strike by conservancy workers continues

Garbage piled up in Chinna Pudur in Ward 13 in Salem on Monday.-PHOTO:P.GOUTHAM.

: With the strike by conservancy workers, engaged by a private contractor for solid waste management work in 21 wards of the City Municipal Corporation, entering the eighth day on Monday, there is growing concern among the residents regarding the piling up of garbage in residential areas.

About 680 contractor workers had begun an indefinite strike from September 1 demanding that they should be paid Rs. 15,000 as monthly salary and job permanency. Talks with Corporation officials and Labour department failed to yield any results and they continued their strike. Most of the 21 wards are located in Kondalampatti and Ammapet Zone and about 100 tonnes of municipal solid waste is being generated everyday.

Overflowing bins and garbage dumped on roads were common scenes in many of the residential areas. Residents were also dealing with the bad odour due to the improper disposal of waste.

“ We were forced to dump garbage on the road as the two bins were full. It has been not cleared for the past 10 days” , residents in Chinna Pudur said. They complained of bad odour and many were concerned about the possible threat to health and spread of diseases due to piling of garbage. “ Before any health issue arises, the garbage should be cleared” , they added. Though the civic body cleared bins that were placed on the main roads, streets in the interior areas were left untouched.

Corporation Commissioner S.R. Selvaraj told The Hindu that additional bins were placed in these wards to clear the garbage. He said that desilting works and door-to-door collection of garbage was completely affected in the past one week.

Though the Corporation claims that garbage was cleared regularly, most of the bins in streets of Ammapet were overflowing with garbage. “Garbage on roads can causes serious problems in traffic movement” , residents in many of the wards said. Of the total 60 wards in the Corporation limits, the civic body maintains solid waste management in 39 wards while the rest of the 21 wards are under the maintenance of a private contractor.